Film Noir Friday: Two Dollar Bettor [1951]

twodollarbettor

Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open! Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is TWO-DOLLAR BETTOR starring John Litel, Marie Windsor and Steve Brodie–also in the cast is Carl Switzer (Alfalfa in the Our Gang comedies). Betting on the ponies is obviously a slippery slope leading from the track to the morgue. Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

Despite his initial reluctance, family man and widower John Hewitt places a two-dollar bet at his first visit to the race track and wins. With brother-in-law George Irwin’s guidance and racing statistics, John continues betting and wins a down payment on new car for his daughters, seventeen-year-old Nancy and eighteen-year-old Diane. As comptroller of the Langston Bank, John earns a moderate living and has acquired some savings. Wanting to provide more for his daughters, John begins to place regular bets with bookie Krueger and arranges to meet Krueger’s associate, Mary Slate, each week to settle his account. Over the next few months, John’s obsession with the track grows as he successfully bets on jockey Osborne. When Osborne is injured; however, John’s winning streak ends and he soon loses most of his savings.